


as long as i may last

by LittleMissWolfie



Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, F/M, FIx It, Female MC - Freeform, M/M, Post Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-11 18:25:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15321546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissWolfie/pseuds/LittleMissWolfie
Summary: Five years is a long time.





	as long as i may last

**Author's Note:**

> My first time writing for this fandom! I've played Endless Summer twice now, both times using diamonds, and I absolutely loved it. I got really sad when I saw there wasn't a lot of Sean love in the fandom, so I decided to write this up! The poem used to break the narrative up is the one from Sean's diamond honeymoon scene, which I adored and just had to use.
> 
> Note, though, that there is the use of the f-slur in the segment after "Rivers, lakes, and rains beyond...". Nothing that really carries into the end, but I just wanted to let you know in case that would be upsetting. The word is only used once.

_ Sunlight, stars, and sky above, hear my humble plea… _

_ Shine e’er bright upon my love, keep her safe and free. _

 

* * *

 

It’s dark. The entire family is gathered around the huge campfire Uncle Don made, trading stories and laughing and making smores. His mom is helping one of his cousins’ kids extinguish her flaming marshmallow and soothing her frustrated tears while her father roasts up a new one for her. Everything smells like citronella and bug spray, but everyone has bites up and down their arms anyway.

Sean usually loved the end of summer camping trip his family always went on. He got to see his cousins and play with the kids and listen to his mother’s siblings tell all sorts of interesting stories about the past. His family is even more enthused than usual, since he missed last year’s due to… well, everything.

But his heart just isn’t in it this year. Because there’s someone missing.

He remembers how Kiley’s eyes lit up when he told her about the trip. How she’d talked about their future together, about “little Seans and Kileys running around,” about wanting to meet the people who helped raised him. 

He wishes the Vaanti had rings. Kiley’d had a flower, tucked behind her ear from the moment they handfasted to the moment she disappeared, but he has nothing. Sean wants nothing more than a physical thing, something concrete and material to prove they were actually married, if only for a few days. 

_ “I promised you a year and a day,” _ her message says, replaying in his mind.  _ “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to give you that.” _

Sean blinks rapidly and excuses himself to his tent.

His family wouldn’t understand.

 

* * *

 

_ Forest, plants, and earth below, listen to my prayer… _

_ Into food and shelter grow, for this life we share. _

 

* * *

 

Sometimes, Sean pretends Kiley lives in his apartment with him.

He has a red toothbrush tucked in his bathroom vanity. He keeps lavender-scented body wash in his shower, though he only uses it on days he stays at home. He doesn’t really like whisky, but he keeps a bottle of her favorite brand in his cabinet. He finds flowers he thinks she would like and keeps them in a vase in the living room.

Diego tried to find pictures of Kiley when they all got home, but they all disappeared with her. So instead Sean commissioned a sketch of her from some online artist. Everyone pitched in to help describe her, from the little baby hairs on the back of her neck to the freckles across her stomach to the little scar on her knee. It’s not perfect and it’s not in color, but he keeps it framed on the nightstand opposite his, where she should be sleeping. It’s the first and last thing he sees every day.

He has to hide it when his mom or his teammates come over so he doesn’t have to explain who this woman is.

How do you explain that the woman you love never really existed?

 

* * *

 

_ Rivers, lakes, and rain beyond, take heed to this cry… _

_ Let her wash within your ponds, ‘til pain turns into sighs _

* * *

 

“The tabloids are calling you a fag, you know,” one of the rookies tells Sean quite gravely in the locker room after practice. He’s the mouthy kind of kid, someone who’s never experienced real hardship if he thinks being called gay is the worst thing imaginable. “Why don’t you just get some girl? There are plenty around.”

“I’m bi, actually,” is all Sean says in response.

And. Yeah. He’s thought about it. He knows his friends all kind of hoped he would find someone else. Michelle would sometimes call and casually mention Jake breaking it off with his most recent fling, or Grace would bemoan Estela’s perpetually-single status when the Rourkes had to appear in public. Even Craig dragged him to a singles bar for his birthday, though Zahra beat his ass for it a few months later when Sean told her about it. 

Sean just wasn’t interested. He was absolutely lonely, like someone tore a limb from his body, but no one else but Kiley would ever be able to fill that gap.

The rookie is still staring at him, his face confused, like he never considered Sean wasn’t straight. “You should still get a girl.”

“I’ve got all the women I need.”

 

* * *

 

_ Body, heart, and soul within, I will only ask… _

 

* * *

 

“Here’s to five years, everyone!”

Five years. Half a decade. It doesn’t seem real.

Everyone is chattering around him, catching up on the last year they’ve spent apart. Michelle and Quinn are cuddling near the fire, Raj is feeding Furball, and Estela and Jake are speaking to each other in low tones away from the group. Little Reggie is toddling around on the sand under the watchful eyes of his parents. Diego and Varyyn tend to the fire and trace pictures into the sand while they chat. Sean finds himself sitting by the water’s edge by himself, empty beer bottle still clutched in his hand as he watches the waves. 

Kiley loved swimming. Absolutely adored it. She was never as at home on the land as she was in the water. In the plans they used to make as they lay together wherever they were sleeping that night, she would say they had to live somewhere either near the sea or with a pool. No negotiations. Sean knows that was why he rented the apartment he’s currently in. The pool is fantastic.

He looks up to the stars. He kind of wishes they were the same stars he and Kiley got to look up at together, but now they’re back to normal. He wonders if Kiley is up there somewhere, watching over her friends as they celebrate. He hopes she can see him.

The party’s noises die down. Sean looks back, confused, and sees all of his friends frozen, staring at the forest’s edge.  

 

* * *

 

_ Care for her, from toe to grin… _

 

* * *

 

She looks exactly the same as she did five years ago. She’s tiny, with sleek hair the color of straw and eyes the color of the tropical water surrounding them. She’s wearing the red tank top/cutoff shorts combo she wore on that first plane ride to La Huerta, the silver necklace from Diego resting on her collarbone, and she’s wearing the flower from the handfasting in her hair.

She raises a hand in a wave and smiles, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “Long time, no see?”

Sean is on his feet in seconds, clears the distance in even less time, and pulls Kiley into his arms. He takes a deep, shuddering breath as he feels her weight against him and holds her so hard she feels the breath wheeze out of her. He can hear their friends clamoring behind them, feels them touching him and grabbing onto whatever bit of Kiley they can, but he ignores them. 

His best friend, his second love, his  _wife_ is back in his arms, where she belongs, and that's all that matters.

 

* * *

 

_...as long as I may last. _


End file.
